A poor student married a wealthy 70-year-old woman. A week later, he was stunned by what he realized.

A gray sky hung over the small Texas college town, the streets slick from rain.

Mark Davis trudged along the sidewalk, his backpack slung over one shoulder, his face clouded with worry. At 23, he was juggling his final year of law school, a part-time job, and a mountain of debt left behind by his late father. Each day, the world …